In
general, this area is called El Kab but it is really the two ancient cities of
Nekheb El Kab on the east bank of the Nile River and the older Nekhen , now
known as Kom el Ahmar (the Red Mound) on the opposite bank.Both cities were
religious centers that date from the pr-Dynastic period.
Nekheb
was the Greek city of Eileithyiapolis. The City was very important prior the
building of Memphis, and was later the capital of the local nome. It was
the birthplace of the nobles of the Middle Empire who retook Egypt from the
Hyksos invasion. The city was protected by the goddess Nekhbet (the white
goddess).
There
are actually two sections to Nekheb, which lies on a plain situated at the
mouth of a wadi. The first is the ancient city,which is surrounded
by a huge (1740 feet square), thick (38 feet thick)wall, where visitors enter
from a west gate. Within lies a Roman temple and a sacred lake, which is a
depression to the east of the town.
In
a smaller enclosure is the Temple of Nekhbet (attached to a Temple dedicated to
Thoth),with its several pylons, hypo-style hall in front, a mamissi
(birth house)dedicated to Nekhbet (the embodiment of Hathor ). The temple was
begun around2700 BC, and enlarged in by later pharaohs of the 18th through 30th
dynasties,including Tutmosis III , Amenophis II, and the Ramessids The
second part of the ruins is the necropolis, which is situated on a rocky
outcrop. There, the most important tombs are those of Ahmose, Renni,
Paheri and Se,which date from the 18th Dynasty and the Ramesside period.